Differential Expression of Somatostatin Receptors in Rainbow Trout

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Somatostatins (SS) are a diverse family of peptide hormones that controlanimal growth, development, and metabolism. Despite the importance of thishormone family, little is known about the basis of its multi-functionalnature. In particular, it is not known how the hormones and theirreceptors interact to elicit a specific effect in a particular target cellor how the structural heterogeneity of the SS family influences suchinteractions. With this proposed work, the unique situation in teleostfish such as rainbow trout, which possess multiple SSs, will be exploitedto examine fundamental aspects of SS-receptor interactions. The hypothesisthat rainbow trout possess multiple SS receptors with differential ligandselectivity that are differentially expressed will be tested in fourexperimental phases. In phase I, multiple mRNAs encoding distinct SSreceptors will be characterized. In phase 2, the binding characteristicsof expressed SS receptors will be examined. In phase 3, the distributionand abundance of SS receptor mRNAs will be determined. In phase 4, factors(e.g., nutritional state, insulin) that control the expression of SSreceptor mRNAs will be identified. While this work pertains specificallyto fish, it will provide important new insight regarding linkage between SSreceptor type to a specific biological action and have broad relevance tounderstanding the multi-functional nature of SS.